EVOLUTION OF

GOOGLE
GOOGLE EVOLUTION: A LOOK BACK AT GOOGLE’S 22
YEAR JOURNEY FROM BETA TO WORLD DOMINANCE
Among the list of biggest corporations in the world sits Google, a company with over 100,000
employees and a portfolio that just about nobody can compete with.
As much as Google dominates the world in 2020, it wasn’t always that way. 22 years ago the
company looked very different. It was funded with only $100,000 and run by a few dozen
employees when it began its journey in 1997 with ambition that seemed like an intangible dream.
1998: Google Beta 2005: Google Video
1999: Google
2006: Google Weather
2000: Google Adwords
2001: Google Images 2004: Google Autocomplete
2002: Google News
2005: Google Maps
The search engine giant Google’s core businesses were search, ads and apps. But over the years, Google
diversified away from its main businesses and ventured into several blue sky projects like biotech, self-
driving cars, smart homes and wearable technology.
 As Google moved to new markets and businesses, its investors were concerned about how the money
from the cash cow businesses of Google were being wasted on such yet to be profitable projects.
With the intent to spell clarity on the amount of investments in each of its business, the company
announced that it would be restructuring with the creation of a new holding company called ‘Alphabet’.
Post the restructuring; Google would become one of the subsidiaries of the new parent Alphabet. Google
would retain its search and advertising, YouTube, Chrome and Android businesses.
 Other business entities, such as Calico, Nest, Google Ventures, Google Capital and Google X would be
managed under the holding company Alphabet, separately from Google business.
Larry Page would be Alphabet's new CEO, while Sergey Brin would serve as the company’s president
and Sundar Pichai would be the new CEO of Google.
Now, Sundar Pichai has replaced Larry Page as the CEO of Alphabet Inc.
But analysts cautioned that, with the restructuring, Alphabet’s blue sky projects would be under close
scrutiny from investors. If these projects failed to drive revenues, investors could call for pulling the plug
on the funds invested on these projects, thereby thwarting the spirit of innovation at Alphabet.
GREINER CURVE